Expectations and Surprises
by bedbugz
Summary: Everyone has their own expectations, and everyone has suprises. How we deal with them is how we live. HouseCuddy. Review or DIE...I mean, make me really, really sad. Because I can see those hits.
1. A Holiday Drink

Hello peoples! This is Tasha, here with a brainblast of ideas that I've been cooking up. Sorry if it sounds like a current popular story on right now, but this isn't, trust me. It's different.

Oh yea, if you like, you must review. OR DIEEE. I mean... I won't feel so happy.

Disclaimer: I don't know any of these peoples. Hey, slavery's against the law!

* * *

House lumbered to his door after two light knocks drew his attention. He didn't bother to look through the peep-hole, but was surprised when he opened the door. 

"Cuddy?" He said, bewildered.

"Hey, House. I thought I'd come over for a holiday drink. Even on the holidays I'm swamped with work." She said, looking exhausted.

"Not that you'd care, you're an over-achiever, and besides, you're Jewish. Hanukkah was last week."

She glared at him. "Well, doesn't mean that I should work on a holiday." Cuddy shrugged off her coat and folded it over her arms, looking around his apartment. She smiled. "Still as messy as ever, huh?"

"I live in my filth and love it," House growled, limping over to his kitchen. Cuddy draped her coat over a chair already piled with clothes and followed him into the kitchen, and suddenly jumped.

"What?" House said, turning from the open cabinet of liquor. "Oh, I see you've met Steve," He said, indifferent.

"You keep a rat in your kitchen. Eww."

"Steve and his cage are the cleanest things in this apartment," House said, pulling out a full bottle of scotch and a half full bottle of rum. He turned to the refrigerator, and pulled out a bottle of eggnog. "Rats get a bad rep."

Cuddy just kept looking at the rat, which ran endlessly in his wheel. She noticed the cage was clean, and he didn't smell.

"Cuddy? Are you going to stand there all night while I drink all the scotch?" He asked, downing a glass.

She shook her head and walked over, pouring herself a shot. She downed it quickly, followed by six others.

"Sheesh, Cuddy, I didn't know you were such a scotch whore," He said, looking amused.

"Well, I deserve it..." She said, without slurring her words. She downed another shot. "I'm gonna get drunk soon, though." Cuddy said, looking at the bottle.

"I _am _drunk, Cuddy dear." House said, grinning and drinking from his eggnog spiked with rum.

The drinking like this had gone on only once before, after he sent Stacy away for the final time. She had found out from Wilson about how he sent her away, and came over to make sure he wasn't on the floor, passed out from alcohol poisoning. It had been over two years, almost three.

* * *

(flashback) 

"_House! Greg! Open up, I know you're in there!" Cuddy yelled, knocking rapidly on the apartment door._

"_Go away, Cuddy," A groggy, slurred voice replied._

"_Open up, House, or I will make you!"_

_The knob twisted and opened four inches. Greg House's unshaven face appeared in the space. "What do you want, Lisa?" He asked her quietly._

_She slipped her arm into the space. "Let me in. I'm here to make sure you don't do anything drastic, like last time._

"_Why would I do anything... like that...? I sent her away this time..."_

"_Yes, and Wilson told me why. Please, please let me in Greg."

* * *

_The two were on House's lumpy couch, sitting next to each other, plainly drunk. An old movie blared from the screen, but they were too busy drinking and blabbing about work and how bad technology was in the fifties.

"Hey, Lisa?" House's voice said, waking Lisa from her drunken stupor. "Why did you really come over?"

"I needed a drink. You're the best person for that." She said, head against his shoulder.

"Right. Remember when we did this, three years ago? Got drunk and watched movies?"

"Yea, I do, Greg."

* * *

(flashback) 

"_Greg... why did you send her away?" Lisa's voice filled the room, overpowering the movie._

"_I told you, Lisa, the same thing I told her. She'd be better off with out me."_

"_That's bullshit, Greg."_

"_You're right. It is."_

"_She was willing to do anything to be with you... she was going to leave her husband. I don't think she expected you to change."_

"_She would have gotten lonely. She left because she was lonely, last time."_

"_Crap, House! She left mainly because of the guilt! She would have left you before if it was all about being lonely."_

"_You don't know." He said quietly._

"_Stacy was my friend, too. One of my best. She was my friend again when she was back."_

"_Lisa..." He said quietly._

"_I feel guilty for your leg, too. We both felt so damn guilty for crippling your damn leg! You don't know what she went through! You don't know what I went through!" Tears slid down her cheeks._

"_Lisa..." He said, brushing the tears from her cheeks. "You have no reason to be sorry."

* * *

_"I'm still sorry, Greg. About your leg." Lisa said quietly.

Greg wrapped his arm around her. "It's okay. Don't be."

A knock echoed through the room. "I'll get it, Lisa."

He didn't look through the peephole, just opened the door all the way. His eyes widened.

"Who is it, Greg?" Lisa's voice filled his ears.

He was silent, just looking at the visitor.

"Greg?" Lisa asked, getting up. She began to walk over to the door.

House finally said the words he never thought her would say again.

"Hi, Stacy."


	2. Abigail Madison House

Here it is. I'm gonna get you naughty readers-100 views and one review! Sorry if you didn't expect the chapters to change so drastically, and I know this makes it like another story-trust me, this isn't gonna be fluffy. Hehe. Sorry if there's some OC-I try not to have any. So... enjoy?

Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue, comprende?

* * *

"House...?" Cuddy asked, finally reaching him. She too looked at the visitor with wide eyes. 

"Hi, Greg, Lisa," Stacy said quietly. "I need to talk to Greg alone."

Cuddy walked into the kitchen, looking at Steve. The rat was lying on his sand shavings, doing nothing fun.

"Greg. After I moved back to Short Hills, I... I..." Stacy began, voice shaking.

House looked at Stacy with indifference.

"I found out that I was... pregnant. And you know I hadn't been with Mark... for a while. And so, we decided to treat it... her, like our own. But I can't keep her anymore. Mark and I are moving to where we can start our own family, without the constant reminder of you."

House blinked, mouth dry. "So... you mean..."

"Yes, Greg."

"But... where... where is she?"

Stacy reached behind her, a little girl hanging on her arm. She picked her up and looked at him. The toddler had straight black hair and rested her head against her mother's chest. The child opened her eyes to reveal startling steel blue eyes.

There was a long silence, and Stacy looked at her child sadly. "Her birthday is November 6th."

"So that does make her mine," House said quietly, not looking at the child.

"Yes, Greg."

"You... you can't leave her with me. She's your child, I can't be a parent. I'm a drug addict who likes to drink and doesn't give a damn about anything."

Stacy was silent, and closed her eyes in thought. She kissed her child's head and opened her eyes. "Here," She said, holding out the toddler. "Hold her like this-"

"I know how to hold a baby!" He retorted, looking away.

"Even if you do, you haven't held one in ages, and she's not a baby. She's nearly 27 months."

House took the child, staring into her eyes. He looked away as if they were poison.

"Greg, she's your child. Your obligation as well. You have to acknowledge that."

"I know, Stacy. Does... does she have stuff?"

Stacy smiled and took off her large leather bag. "Everything you need right now is in here. Please, Greg? You have to do this. Please?"

House gripped the handle of the bag, and looked at Stacy. "Okay. Okay." He said, as Stacy looked at him with grave sincerity, and looked at her child-his child. She kissed the baby's head.

"Her name's Abigail. Abigail Madison."

Stacy took a deep breath and shut the door behind her. Her eyes welled up, but she walked off.

House dropped the bag, looking at the child. "She's insane!" He said loudly, walking into the kitchen. He held Abigail out in front of him.

"What, Greg?" Cuddy asked, and then looked at the toddler who had begun to cry. "Who's that?"

"I guess, my kid. Stacy's and my kid."

"Oh, okay." Cuddy said, looking at the child. "How is she sure she's yours? Did she run a paternity test?"

"Nope, she wasn't sleeping with anyone but me back then. And besides," He said, but Cuddy looked at the child, who's blue eyes were wide open.

Cuddy sighed. "You've got to stop holding her like that." She took Abigail from House's grip and held her against her. The child stopped crying and rested her head against her chest. Cuddy rocked slightly.

"Who's the pro?" House said, smirking.

"I'm the eldest of my family."

"Oh, I see. The baby-sitter."

She looked away. "Why did she leave her with you?"

"She said Mark and her were moving and... didn't want a reminder of me."

"I didn't believe they'd be still together after... what's her name?"

"Stacy said... Abigail Madison. Must have a thing for presidents' and first ladies' names."

Cuddy smiled. "What did she leave you with?" She asked, looking at the little girl, who had her hand against Cuddy's chest as well.

"This... big bag. I dropped it at the door."

"Well, go get it, Dr. Everyone-Is-Stupid-Except-For-Me!"

"Creative," He scoffed, limping over to the door. He bent down painfully and picked up the bag, limping back over. "Here."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Open it up."

"Yes, mistress," He said in a deep voice, unzipping the bag. "It's all a bunch of baby stuff!" He said.

"What were you expecting, Vicodin?"

"Yes," House said sadly.

"This isn't a dream, House."

He sadly pulled out some piles of clothes, a couple of picture books, and a stuffed rabbit. Abigail saw this and began to squeal. "Boo-boo!"

"Boo-boo?" House said, amused. "Here." He stuffed it towards the child, who grabbed it and cuddled it. "Nope, still no Vicodin."

"Yea, but what's that?" Cuddy asked, walking closer. She was talking about a purple notepad sticking from underneath a blanket.

"Notes," House said. "Maybe she isn't so insane."

The two spent a while reading about Abigail Madison when Cuddy noticed that she had fallen asleep on her shoulder. "Poor kid," She said softly, grabbing the blanket and wrapping her in it. She walked out and placed her on the couch.

"G/d, she's complex."

"She's a kid, a human. Everyone is complex. Another puzzle." Cuddy said, resting her head in her hands.

"Humanity's overrated."

"Right. Did Stacy pack any food? Because I don't think anything you have is fit for a child to eat."

"Hey! I have peanut butter!"

"Wow, complex food pyramid."

"You don't know any food but those mini-salads you eat everyday."

"Nice." She walked out of the kitchen and looked at the kid. "She looks like you. Your nose, your chin..."

"Yea. My eyes will tell everyone who's kid she is, not the my chin." House said from the kitchen. She heard the clinks of bottles, and could tell he was downing more scotch.

Cuddy said down next to the kid and stroked the black hair. "She's gone through a lot for a two-year-old. That's sad."

"Yea, I'm drowning in tears."

"You're drowning in scotch. If you come to work with the world's most massive hangover, I'm not going to give you paternity lenience."

"No paternity leave, either?"

"Nope. That's for newborn babies, genius. I think she's two years pass that, don't you?"

"She's still tiny."

"No she isn't!"

"The baby-sitter would know."

"I'm a dean of medicine, not a baby-sitter."

"Sorry, boss."

"Where am I?" Cuddy said, rubbing her eyes. She was sleeping on a... couch, not her own bed, and a child was sleeping beside her.

"Mommy..." A young, squeaky voice said, almost cried.

Cuddy finally realized where she was-in House's apartment, and his kid was clinging at her side.

"Abigail..." She said, picking her up. The child reached up for her hair, and she pulled it away.

"Mommy!" She said a little happier.

"No, I'm not your mommy." She said, tired. "Your mommy is Stacy."

"Stayyyyysee." Abigail recited.

"Right. Are you hungry?" She asked, as the little girl clambered into her lap.

Abigail looked at her with big eyes.

"Okay." Cuddy said, and picked her up. She walked into the kitchen, half expecting House to be splayed out across the floor. "Where's your daddy?" She asked, not expecting an answer as she placed the child on a chair.

"And does your daddy even have any real food?" She said angrily, closing the refrigerator, going through cabinets.

"There, some peanut butter, like he said," She sighed, walking over to the breadbox. "Of course, empty. Where did he stash it?"

She reached down to open the cabinet beneath the sink and pull a loaf out. "Here. It looks sealed..." Cuddy quickly made a peanut butter sandwich and picked up Abigail, sat down, and put her on her lap.

"Who's the new mommy?" A groggy, rough voice echoed.

"I'm just feeding your kid. Which you probably won't do." Cuddy frowned. "I've got to get home to get ready for work..."

"You can't leave me alone with that... thing..."

"You have to work today. You can take her into the daycare."

House frowned.

"Here, House, I'll help you take her there, okay?"

"Thanks, Lisa..." House said quietly as Cuddy turned to get a washcloth to clean Abigail's face and hands. He looked at her curiously.

"Well?" She prompted, holding Abigail.

"I guess you should change her clothes, huh?" He said, looking away.

"Are you going to do anything as a father?" She asked, watching him limp out of the kitchen.

"Nope, I don't plan to."

Cuddy looked at him and rolled her eyes.

Once Abigail was dressed in leggings and a dress, she looked at House, who was dressed in his riding jacket. "House, you can't take your bike to work with her."

House shrugged. "Guess someone with a car will have to take her, huh?"

Cuddy glared at him again. "You are so lucky I was here when you got her, you know that?"

House rolled his eyes at her. "'Bye," He said, leaving the apartment. In a flurry of movements, she gathered her purse and jerked open the door, holding Abigail who looked at Cuddy with a scared expression.

"House! I'm not going to be here everyday for her, so you better get your act together!" Cuddy yelled as he started the engine, drowning her threats. The sound agitated Abigail, who clung to Cuddy.

Cuddy sighed at looked at Abigail. "No car seat for you, huh? I'll see if I can pack you in somehow." Abigail smiled. "Mommy?"

"No, I'm not your mommy."

* * *

A/N: Okay, here, REVIEW! Or I'll get nasty on your arses. 


	3. The Mysterious File

A/N:

**Britz**: Okay, sorry for that last threat. This is around Christmas, season 4. If we look at it by airing time, Need to Know was early February, and nine months later... is November. Sorry. Then I AU'd two more years. +2 yearsNew people, Lots of Huddy, Wilson being a psychoanalyst, Sarcasm, Twists...

**christina**: Well, here it is!

**JoJo**: Yea, well, at least he has help!

**RougeButterfly**: OMG JOO ROCK! Hehe.

**bbplayer005**: I will!

**luv2luv-Hugh**: Hehe, and Abigail's not gonna stop!

**HouseAddiction**: MY LOVERLY BETA ONG IT IS NOT STRANGE HOW DARE JOO!!!! Next chapter will be typed up, like fast.

**SisShippy**: It's interesting to write, too.  
**  
Jazelle1996**: I are an gud righter, 2! Did HouseAddiction threaten you? LOL. Anyways. Yea, well, you'll see why.

**Jennie**: 'Cha he was! I'll keep writing!

I AM SO SORRY ABOUT HOW IT TOOK SO LONG. I hate writing fillers! And this was a filler.

This is my favorite muse.

Disclaimer: Blah. Me no own, so send lawyers away. But I do own Abigail. Hehe.

/\/\

Cuddy was _not _a happy camper. And why should she be? House was the most irresponsible person she'd ever met! She was frustrated when she secured Abigail to the backseat, getting into the car. The snow was still piled lightly around the landscape.

She drove away from his apartment, quickly getting onto the highway. So infuriated, her she drove mindlessly, her mind not on the road but on House. She was shaken from her thoughts, however, when she heard Abigail gasp. She looked up to see the SUV quickly coming closer and closer.

Cuddy slammed the breaks, gasping as well. She counted to ten to calm herself down, and concentrated on the road. She needed to stop focusing on something as trivial as House being an ass.

As she approached her beautiful hospital, she knew House had gotten there before her-obviously. She calculated the time she'd have to intercept him before he slipped into his rat-hole.

She pulled into the parking spot proudly embellished with her name and got out quickly. Taking out Abigail, she noticed the way the child clutched on to her and she felt a sense of longing and a wave of other emotions wash over her.

"Mommy, where are we going?" Abigail asked, looking up at the looming hospital.

"I'm not your mommy. We're going to see your daddy," Cuddy said, adjusting the child so her weight wouldn't throw her off balance.

"Daddy? I don't have a daddy."

Suddenly Cuddy wondered what this child had gone through-she didn't know she had a father? What had Mark done?

She banished the thought as she walked through the main entrance, ignoring the stares from various nurses and doctors as she strode towards the elevators. House was standing by them, and when he spotted her, he pressed the buttons wildly.

Cuddy walked up, giving him a snarky smile. "Here we are, Abigail!" she said loudly. "Here's your Daddy!" Cuddy lifted, detached the child from her shoulder and placed her down in front of House. Abigail looked up at him and smiled. "Daddy?" she asked.

House made his 'I'm a cripple!' face and looked at the child painfully. Everyone was staring at them. He held out his large hand and her small one gripped his pinky and ring fingers.

"Daddy?" Abigail repeated.

He looked at Cuddy again and then at Abigail, words grating as he spoke. "Yes, I'm… I'm your daddy."

Abigail smiled. Cuddy smirked even harder and leaned over to whisper in his ear, "That's why you don't leave certain things to certain people." She dropped the bag of Abigail's things and turned, looking back only to wave as she walked off to her office. Extremely confused, Wilson forced his way through the small crowd outside the clinic.

"House? House, what?"

/\/\

After changing into the spare set of clothes she always kept at work and doing something with her hair, which looked awful, she did her rounds in the hospital, as always. People were still curious about the outburst this morning, but she did well to ignore them.

She click-clicked through the maternity ward, the cardiology department, and the immunology departments, finally coming to the oncology wards. With a heavy heart and an experience she had felt when holding Abigail, she walked through the children's oncology ward, making her way to Wilson's office. She knocked and heard a muffled voice say "Come in." Wilson looked up as the door opened and put down his pen when he saw Cuddy walk in. He leaned back in his chair..

"Well, well. Just who I wanted to see. Going to explain what the whole… event was downstairs?"

Leaning against his wall, she folded her arms across her chest, looking up at the ceiling. "House. Obviously, he's done something even more irresponsible. He had sex with Stacy before she left and she got pregnant. I was over at his apartment… you know, our holiday drinks? Well, she came over in the middle of the night, scared to death, and gave the kid to him, just like that. And I think the little girl, Abigail, is a little screwed up-she didn't know she had a daddy. I suppose that means Stacy didn't lie to her and tell her Mark was her daddy, or she just avoided talking about House… or Mark drilled it into her."

She said the last words like a curse.

Wilson looked surprised. "You didn't know Stacy and House had sex?"

She shook her head.

"Well, they did. The day before she left… he pushed her away the next day."

Cuddy nodded. "I know." She looked off distantly, and Wilson leaned forward.

"Why do you care so much?"

Something sparked in her eyes, but faded. "I… I don't know, Wilson. He's my doctor, he was my patient…"

Wilson sighed. "It wasn't your fault. Neither thing was… it was just how things went."

Cuddy turned, eyes brimming with tears. She walked out, trying to blink them away as she made her way towards House's office.

"House…" She murmured at the door, and he looked up at her, eyes showing his surprise at her tone.

"Yes?" he asked, "Thought up new ways to embarrass me?"

She walked over and clasped her hands together, closing her eyes. "I… I'm sorry." she said, and he nodded.

"Are you okay?" House blurted out. It was the only thing he could think of.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry about your leg, again."

Cuddy began to turn but he grabbed her wrist. "It's not your fault that it didn't work."

She looked at him with understanding and slipped from his grip, turning back at the door. "You have one month, House, to get this mess straightened out. I won't always be here for this kid."

Her heels echoed 'click-click' as she went down the hallways.

/\/\

House gently bounced the ball up and down, thinking about Cuddy's offer. What did she expect him to do, huh? Magically get a wife to take care of Abby while Daddy works? Eh, didn't think so.

He put down the ball, checked his watch, and limped down the hall. _Time for Daddy to go home now, _he thought.

House entered the elevator and just as the doors began to close, Wilson entered. House let out a deep sigh. "Here to psychoanalyze me?"

"About what? Your leg, your cases, your doctors… your twisted mind…?"

It shocked him that Wilson didn't bring up the kid-maybe he didn't know?

"Or maybe the gift you received last night?"

_Too good to be true, _he thought, but didn't flinch, didn't respond.

He looked at House's troubled look. "I'm not going to say anything."

House limped out as the elevators pinged open and headed towards Cuddy's office. He drastically threw open the doors. "I suppose you can pick up the love child," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

She looked up from the file, arching her neck. "Oh, God, can you ever slow down?" Cuddy looked back at her work. "I'm not finished yet."

House rolled his eyes. "Then I'll go home, and you can come with the sprog."

Cuddy looked up again, a smirk on her face. "Or you can just wait until I'm done."

He gasped like a child. "What am I to do?" House asked in mock desperation.

"Play your Gameboy, listen to your iPod, work in the clinic…Do something that isn't annoying or destructive."

"But Mo-om!"

She didn't look back up.

"Just do something!" She saw Wilson come out and nodded to him. "Hello, Wilson," she said, nodding her head in acknowledgement.

Wilson passed by her, whispering into her ear, "Are you taking care of his kid?"

She dipped her head slightly, a nod House didn't see, and Wilson walked past.

/\/\

**GAME OVER. GAME OVER. GAME OVER. **

"Damn…" House muttered, but instead of restarting the game, he shut off the system, and stood up.

It had been two hours. Certainly she was done by now? He exited the clinic room and headed towards her office quite cheerfully.

He stopped at her glass doors and peered in. No one was in the office. His curiosity got the better of him and he entered.

Her desk was scattered with papers and files. He sat down and began to page through them. Most were of accidents and two were his past patients.

House looked through the documents. There were a couple memos and some letters from donors.

Under all the documents was another file. House wondered what it was doing under all the mess.

Picking it up, he inspected the label.

**Cuddy, Lisa M. **


End file.
